I gave my writing group this week’s prompt and they came up with some really interesting pieces of writing. So I thought I’d see what you make of it. Your word this week is
WAITING
What does this word mean to you? Waiting for a hospital appointment? For a delivery to the house? Perhaps it’s waiting for a train or bus. You could take a step back in time. Did you sit there at school, waiting for the end of the day bell to go? I remember being 15 years old and I couldn’t wait to be older – to be 16, 18, 21. Many decades on, I wonder why I was in such a rush.
I always enjoy seeing what you come up with if the prompt gives you inspiration, but there’s no obligation to share your writing. Here is the work you shared on the last prompt FUNNY MOMENTS.
I’ve had a fair few, like when I had chickenpox and had two young lads offering to count the spots and dab me with calamine lotion. I was 32.
Like falling over in the road and the young men who came to my aid couldn’t help me up as I was laughing so much.
This is probably the most vivid:
My chair collapsed under me in the office and I just missed the desk with my chin before hitting the deck. The result was something out of a comedy clip:
One person went to get a cushion.
Another the accident book.
A third a cup of tea.
Three male members of staff tried to pick me up, but failed as I was not only at my heaviest, but also laughing so much.
Someone arrived with a hot water bottle.
Eventually, someone thought to get me another chair!
I believe it was about ten years ago when we were still living in San Francisco and one of our neighbors, Martin Gaines, invited four families, maybe about fifteen people all together, to join him, his wife, and his two young children for Thanksgiving dinner in his backyard.
Martin had just purchased a portable turkey fryer and decided he was going to deep-fry a turkey for the first time. He had never deep-fried a turkey before but had watched a few YouTube videos and declared himself an expert. I had never had a deep fried turkey before and was looking forward to seeing how it compared with a typical roasted turkey baked in an oven.
By around 3:00 in the afternoon everyone was gathered in Martin’s backyard when Martin walked out of his house carrying the turkey on large plate with some kind of metal hanger-like device around it to lower it into the deep fryer. Martin made a big show of explaining all of the step involved in deep frying a turkey and then he confidently lowered the turkey into the fryer.
BOOM!
A fireball shot up, and Martin fell backward on his ass, singeing his eyebrows. His wife screamed, and I think it was Martin’s mother who, completely unfazed, muttered, “This is why I told you to bake it.”
Martin’s big mistake was that the turkey was not fully thawed. Fortunately, the fire was put out quickly, and no one was seriously hurt. But the turkey was a lost cause — burned to a crisp on the outside and still frozen in the middle. Martin ended up ordering a half a dozen pizzas for delivery, and swore never to deep-fry anything again.
We moved from San Francisco five years ago, but Martin did host another Thanksgiving dinner at his place right before we moved. True to his word his, he served a traditional roasted turkey. But I wanted to bust Martin’s chops just bit by retelling the story of The Great Turkey Fire of 2014.
Thinking of children and what they say and do. I was a young child, probably about 5. I was developing a wart on my thumb and asked my mum what I should do? She told me to rub some bacon on it and bury it in the garden. Some time later she found me outside calling for her, asking if I could come back inside? I’d rubbed the bacon on my thumb then shoved my thumb into the soil! I always have taken things too literally!
Nicola Daly:
I once asked my mum where she was going.
‘Round the bend,’ she replied.
‘Can I come too?’ I asked.
I’ll say no more!!!!
*
A few years ago our black lab, Rosie, started showing signs of arthritis, and conversation turned to what would happen when she couldn’t manage the stairs.
My teenage daughter turned to me and said: ‘We should get a stairlift fitted, Mum. And then it’ll be all ready for when you need it.’
I hadn’t even hit 50!
So a good many years ago, I went on holidays to the UK.
I was visiting my aunt, and she was having a family barbecue.
It was a hot day, and we were all outside enjoying the sun.
Some of her friends were also there, from the Irish club she frequented.
I was sitting nicely on a deck chair, enjoying a hot dog.
Next thing I knew, I was splayed on my back, legs up in the air, the deckchair had collapsed.
Everyone was in stitches at me!
Needless to say I was super embarrassed!
I took off indoors, and I don’t think I came back out again for at least 2 hours.
“Mom Brain Moments: The Day I Forgot My Kids at the Mall”
This happened over ten years ago when my daughters were still young. One weekend, we went out for a typical day of shopping and lunch. At that time, I had already resigned from my teaching job to be a full-time mom, with some writing gigs on the side. Since I was at home all the time, I decided to let go of our family driver, as I could drive myself.
After enjoying our afternoon snacks, we decided it was time to head home. I instructed my girls and the two nannies to wait for me at the main entrance of the mall while I went to get the car. I parked in an open space at the back of the mall, and since it was quite hot outside, I didn’t want the kids waiting in the sun.
As I drove out of the parking area, I suddenly realized that something was off. The car felt too quiet and light. I was driving the larger van, which meant I had the kids with me, but I had completely forgotten about them and driven past the entrance, already fifteen minutes away. In a panic, I made a sudden U-turn and headed back.
When I finally arrived, I saw my kids laughing along with the nannies. My eldest said, “Mom, we saw you drive past us and waved at you. When we realized you’d forgotten us, I told Yaya, ‘Never mind, she’ll come back.’” It was definitely a moment to remember!
New Blood
What a hoot
There is new blood
In fourth year at Uni
Competition
In the form of a young man
From an opposition university
This youngster and my son
Both chose challenging
Research projects
Both have double supervisors
One of Greg’s
If from Milan, Italy
He thinks this gives him
An edge
Over a double local package
But
The competition
Has four subjects for both
The first and second blocks
Greg had four and three
So, he’s signed up for
An additional course
Naturally the most difficult
On the list of electives
There is nothing like a little
Competition
To stir the blood
And make a young man work
“Well, Mom,” he said
In response to my enquiry
“I’m not going to be upstaged
by a usurper from Pretoria”
Esther Chilton 
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